Autism HWB

Creating a Mindful Morning Routine

Image shows a cat on a chair by the window. In the foreground is a table with a vase of flowers and two coffee mugs

Written by Becca Lory Hector

As I walk inside from the side door, dogs in tow, I look to my right and see it. The red light on the coffee maker is still on and I take a deep breath and smile to myself. If today is the kind of day that I can have a second cup, and it is, the coffee left in the pot will still be the perfect temperature. It will be hot, but with just the right amount of creamer, it will cool down just enough to be palatable while still remaining warm enough for the steam to build up in my glasses as I tilt the mug to my mouth for that first sip. This idyllic temperature cannot be replicated by microwave oven nor does it remain for long. Today, the stars have aligned. This morning, my husband has his own stuff to accomplish, leaving me alone to do some computer time that does not include a single meeting with anyone. As I pour that second cup and listen to the sugar dissolve into the dark liquid, I think to myself, today is going to be a particularly good day.

Wellbeing through Weightlifting

Written by Cerys The Chameleon

The stale stench of the changing rooms, lit with furious fluorescent lighting that felt like lasers when I looked at them, mixed with the laughter of my peers ricocheting around my brain, it was a recipe for sensory overwhelm.

Patterns

Image shows a close up of an irregular brick path

Written by Zephyr Penoyre

There is an innate value in patterns and maps, as tools for exploration – of worlds simple or complex, imaginary or realisable, and the porous boundaries between.

Gardening and Recovery

Image shows a long strand of daisy-like flowers

By Mair Elliott

Often seen as an elderly person’s hobby, gardening and it’s benefits to health can often be overlooked. With benefits to physical health, mental health and emotional health, I truly believe we should be discussing its value in holistic care for those with chronic illness, mental illness and disability.

Cass’s “New Normal” under Lockdown

Image shows hands typing on a laptop keyboard

We have decided to take a temporary break from publishing our usual posts in order to share how our contributors are handling current lockdown measures.

Alexandra and Helen: Connection under Lockdown

We have decided to take a temporary break from publishing our usual posts in order to share how our contributors are handling current lockdown measures.

Rhi and Flo's Lockdown Routines

Image shows a fence and wildflowers in the foreground, hillsides behind

We have decided to take a temporary break from publishing our usual posts in order to share how our contributors are handling current lockdown measures.

Joy

By Kristy Forbes

Joy

Morning joy

I’m always up before the birds and the sun

Always been a morning person

Partly due to a strategy developed in my early twenties

To hit the deck as soon as my eyes opened

In order to avoid falling into the depressive abyss

Making Time for Art

Image shows a group of people standing in front of paintings in an art gallery. The photo has been taken with slow shutter speed so that the people are blurred and the paintings are in focus.

By Alexandra Forshaw

Life as an autistic woman can be hard going sometimes, a balancing act between necessities that take energy from me in exchange for the means to survive and the pleasurable pursuits that replenish and restore me.

Problem Solving

Image shows chrysalises at various stages and an emerging butterfly.

There are few things I find more soothing and energising than creating a problem to tangle my brain in. Sometimes when I feel utterly sapped of energy, and completely exhausted, I will spot an issue that needs solving and slowly wrap my mind around it.

The change can be instantaneous, or it can be a slow build that starts under a duvet with a fragment of an idea. Slowly as the hours pass, it may draw me through the house, pausing only for the necessities – dressing only if the task will require it, drinking only if my head aches from dehydration, eating only if I need the energy.